The government has already earmarked the budget for additional 550 ropains of land for the airport. As per the Land Acquisition Act (1977), it is the responsibility of the concerned Chief District Officer to acquire any land for government"s purpose. [break]
Nevertheless, the ministry has not sent any letter to Kaski"s CDO Yadav Koirala to proceed with the acquisition of additional land required for the proposed regional international airport. “We have not received any letter from the ministry yet. We will start the process for the land acquisition as soon as we receive direction from the center,” Koirala told Republica.
District Administration Office has already consulted with the local stakeholders and the landowners as the government decided to acquire more land for the airport as 3,100 ropanis of land acquired decades ago was not enough for the international airport.
The government has already decided to acquire the land for the airport at wards 14,15 and18 of Pokhara sub-metropolis. The process for the land acquisition will start after Compensation Determination Committee coordinated by the CDO provides the compensation.
The director of Pokhara branch office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Pratap Babu Tiwari, also said that they were also waiting for the center"s direction to go ahead with the land acquisition.
Some time ago, the CAAN had entrusted Tiwari with the responsibility to carry out initial study to acquire additional land for the airport.
Tiwari has already submitted the report to the CAAN.
He also informed that the company entrusted with the responsibly to carry out a feasibility survey for the airport is working towards that end. “I hope the direction for the land acquisition will arrive from the ministry before long,” Tiwari added.
The locals hope that the construction of the airport would start on time. Thirty-seven years ago, the government had acquired 3,106 ropains of land for the airport.
With the new international airport, the tourism industry in the tourist town is expected to reach a new height. China is expected to provide a loan for the construction of the airport.
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